Simplify! Why looking back can help.

It's a huge difference! I noticed that, after years of being in corporate life and then retiring and reaching my 70's - that getting to sleep at night was getting more difficult. Wow! No more meetings, no performance reviews, no commute. . .but I STILL found it more difficult to get a night's sleep. I knew there was something else interfering.  As I searched for an answer, it came to me that, with the passage of time, the number of choices I was forced to make each day had increased exponentially (figuratively), or so it seemed. After a long day, my parents sat down to watch TV and had 7 channels, to choose from. Nothing on? They'd read a book or listen to the radio.  After a long day, I sit down to watch TV and confess to having "surfed" (Old Guy word) at least a hundred of the 400 channels available, twice in an evening.  Exasperated, I shut the TV and open a book. . .paper and ink? Kindle? Audible?  Or I turn on the radio (Youngsters, please look this up on...

As society and our culture have evolved, we've felt a greater sense of freedom because of the exponentially increasing number of choices we have, everywhere we turn. But freedom like this can be a double-edged sword. I don't know about you, but when I go to the market for grocery shopping, I've learned to accept the exasperation I feel when I exit the store. So so many choices, way more than I need. Have you ever tried to buy a salad dressing?   What used to be a simple process many years ago, dressing a salad is now bordering on stressful. We'll talk more about that, later. How about keeping your teeth clean? Again, many years ago the process was simple. Now it borders on a neurosis. More later. And that morning cup of coffee. Imagine how easy it was many years ago, when your request to the counter server was "coffee regular." Now there may be as many as 5 or 10 different components to a cup of coffee. It's ridiculous and stress inducing. My hope is that ...